Free of charge with his membership!

It really varies based on how busy we are during the year. If I had to guess probably somewhere around 500hrs a year. That could be way off or pretty close. We have a few boats so it also depends on where the calls are and which boats we are running.

The average tow speed for us is around 8kts, but varies on vessel size and hull displacement. That speed is for the safety of the people and the vessel under tow from wakes or any unexpected incidents, such as the Hawser (tow line) parting or our tow clips breaking. We do our best to prevent these incidents by performing routine maintenance and inspection of our equipment, but things can still happen. We also occasionally do high speed tows, which is around 16-18kts. This is only in special situations, such as a vessel taking on water or if we are extremely busy and need to finish a job quickly. The decision to high speed tow is one that is calculated based on safety. We will not high speed if the water is crowded, rough, or if their is elderly or young children aboard the disabled vessel. Safety of the people and the vessel are our number one priority.

@@CaptainCutip that's for answer did use an AI write that response?

No sir, that was my response. I don’t really know how to use the AI stuff yet. I probably should learn as it would probably help with some of my responses. Thanks for watching!

Great Question! This is one I get asked frequently. With outboard motors we always try to pull bow out. This prevents us from breaking anything such as transducers or trim tabs that may be attached near the transom. Inboard motors and pods are the opposite. We prefer to slowly and gently pull from the stern. We dig a hole around the props and shaft. This prevents the props and shafts from being drug across the sand, which could lead to damage. Sailboats and things that typically have weak rudders we want to come out bow first because we don't want to jam the rudder coming out in reverse and risk breaking or damaging the rudder. Basically every boat and every situation is different and is a case by case basis on how we deal with grounded vessels.

It is a strange dynamic for sure. We have people who are inadvertently rude to us because they are upset with the situation. Typically those that are upset or rude to us are apologetic by the end of the tow. Tow Boat U.S. is standing by 24/7/365 if you do find yourself in need of assistance.

@@CaptainCutip I figured that would be the case, I’m sure like anything else it gets old but damn nice way to make a living.. be safe out there brother.. love the vids

Did you hit your head? I saw a video there’s a kind of hook for clipping a line on and off the bow eye so you don’t need to reach down there.

I didn’t. It looked like I did though. We have used those types of hooks in the past. They just don’t last for us. We bend or break them fairly quickly. The clips we use are the only thing we have found that will not break under the stress we induce on them. The clips we use do come at the cost of having to get closer to the release rope, but from a safety aspect, having a clip that won’t break during an ungrounding or a tow is far more important in my opinion than taking an extra second to get closer to release the clip.

The teal one

We are always happy to help no matter the situation!

Very likely you are correct!

Completely free to the member with their membership! I highly recommend having one if you are planning to do any boating. You are correct. This would have been very expensive tow without a membership!

They requested that we follow them in with a de-watering pump ready because they were not sure if they were going to be able to make it all the way to their boat lift without going down. Due to how far offshore they were the coast guard responded as well, just in case the vessel did go down and they ended up in the water.